Mark Twain once said: 鈥淭he report of my illness grew out of his illness. The report of my death was an exaggeration.鈥�
To get the Westshore Rebels鈥� story straight, the organization is struggling with sponsorship and could use a few more billets, but stories of the sa国际传媒 Football Conference team folding are far from true, insist their newest interim co-presidents Elise Pastro and Sue Fournier.
Interim head coach Tim Kearse set off the alarms last week suggesting some change was required for the team to survive. Both Fournier and Pastro are in full agreement with Kearse, who was promoted from assistant coach when Scott Mennie stepped down for personal reasons.
鈥淲e are not folding,鈥� insisted Fournier after a meeting of the board Tuesday night.
鈥淣ot a hope in hell. Come hell or high water, we will have a team playing this season,鈥� insisted Pastro.
鈥淲e have 71 players and we will be ready for Saturday,鈥� added Fournier of the team鈥檚 league and home opener against the Vancouver Island Raiders.
But the organization is in dire need of help.
鈥淲e need sponsorship,鈥� admitted Pastro. 鈥淭im spoke very clearly the other day. Our corporate sponsorships are down. Businesses are down and when business is down, the bottom line is down and there is less to give out.
鈥淏ut at the end of the day, we鈥檝e got players who are a part of this community. When you are a part of this community, work in this community, gone to school in this community and live in this community, we need the community to take their backs.鈥�
To further complicate matters, Roger Wade officially stepped down as president on Monday as he is occupied by his two companies and his time as a Langford councillor.
鈥淗e said he needed to step down and we said fine, we would pick up the torch and run with it for the season,鈥� said Fournier. 鈥淪o we鈥檙e running with the torch and we鈥檒l be here Saturday against the Raiders at 7 o鈥檆lock.鈥�
The team is still looking for sponsorship for players at a cost of $400 each, which covers registration fees. In return, the sponsor receives season tickets, names in the programs or hot sheets and a signed photo of the player.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e hanging your hat on a person rather than the whole team,鈥� said Pastro.
And two out-of-town recruits are still without billets, residing at the Glen Lake Inn and need to be out by Saturday.
Billets are paid $500 a month to provide a bed, a shower and food.
鈥淭he community needs to get involved in this team. The biggest problem we had was we had a board where things weren鈥檛 getting done,鈥� said Kearse, who wants to see the program develop under a community umbrella.
鈥淭here are four high school programs, four developmental programs for kids right up to 16. Those are instant feeder programs into our junior program, which only makes it better for the Island. Now the team would be built up by at least 80 per cent of locals,鈥� he insisted.
鈥淲e need to get that message out there,鈥� said Kearse, who wants the organization constructed like the one in the community of Raymond, Alta., a perennial provincial powerhouse built around a school of 300 students.
鈥淭hat ideal is what I would like to bring here, start with a philosophy and a terminology system that carries right through to the Rebels.
鈥淏ut most importantly, we need the board to pull together and get the things done that need to be done.鈥�
